Based on my search when i looked into arandr earlier, and also my search now, it cannot :( looks like it’s just a graphical interface for xrand
But looks like there’s a different project, autorandr, that looks promising, it won’t automatically run when a display is connected or disconnected, but that’s easy enough to do with an udev rule or something
Then I misunderstood your question. I’m pretty sure you can do all of these things:
"only primary, “only secondary”, “mirrored” “side by side”
But it’s not like in a DE where you jump through those modes with a keybinding. Instead you generate an xrandr config. It can preserve the position if you unplug an extra monitor and then plug it back in.
If you need that quickswitch functionality, you can generate configs for all of those scenarios and just use a script to cycle through them.
You could also use built in wm functionality. For example you can create modes (I think that’s what it’s called) in i3. Press a shortcut, it opens up a menu, and you can choose your option (load an xrandr config).
Another option is to use Xfce or KDE, and replace the default wm. It’s the best option if you’re lazy about setting everything up. That’s why I’m currently running Xfce + I3. That functionality is useless for me as the Xfce version doesn’t seem to allow you to customise those configurations. The regular display configuration is pretty useful though.
Quickswitch or automatic switch to a different profile, i often found myself enabling an external display and disabling the built-in one, then when packing down my laptop i forgot to manually configure the built in, meaning when i got home i had a laptop with a blank screen,
Sometimes i was able to log in, open a terminal and enable the screen, other times i would have to reboot it. Something that could automatically enable the builtin if no external display is connected would’ve gone a long way for my usecase (my attempts at writing scripts for that never worked from what i recall, something got messed up when going to sleep)
Doesn’t xfce use a dm? What kind of display configuration does it give? A gui for manually configuring the layout or something more?
I’d most likely keep it like that and go on with my day, but here’s an ai response for automating it:
To trigger a script when an external monitor is connected or disconnected, you can use udev, the device manager for the Linux kernel.
Here’s a step-by-step plan:
Create a script that will be triggered when the monitor is connected or disconnected. For example, /usr/local/bin/monitor-hotplug.sh. Make sure to make it executable with chmod +x /usr/local/bin/monitor-hotplug.sh.
#!/bin/bashexport DISPLAY=:0
export XAUTHORITY=/home/username/.Xauthority # replace "username" with your actual username
xrandr | grep "HDMI1 connected"# replace "HDMI1" with your actual monitor identifierif [ $? -eq 0 ]; then# commands to run when the monitor is connectedelse# commands to run when the monitor is disconnectedfi
Create a udev rule that will trigger the script. For example, /etc/udev/rules.d/95-monitor-hotplug.rules.
Now, whenever an external monitor is connected or disconnected, the monitor-hotplug.sh script will be triggered.
Please note that you’ll need to replace “HDMI1” with your actual monitor identifier, which you can find by running xrandr without any arguments. Also, replace “username” with your actual username.
And here’s an example of using modes in i3 if you need to switch between multiple configurations:
set$mode_system System (k) lock, (l) logout, (u) suspend, (h) hibernate, (r) reboot, (s) shutdown
mode "$mode_system" {
bindsym k exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh lock, mode "default"
bindsym l exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh logout, mode "default"
bindsym u exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh suspend, mode "default"
bindsym h exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh hibernate, mode "default"
bindsym r exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh reboot, mode "default"
bindsym s exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh shutdown, mode "default"# back to normal: Enter or Escape
bindsym Return mode "default"
bindsym Escape mode "default"
}
bindsym control+mod1+X mode "$mode_system"
Doesn’t xfce use a dm?
Display manager?
A gui for manually configuring the layout or something more?
Basic stuff you’d expect, and it has a quick switch keybinding to go between a few basic configurations.
Display manager
I thought the d stood for Desktop, but i’m thinking of de, i see i’ve been mixing up terms, i’ve also been under the incorrect understanding that window managers and desktop environments were mutually exclusive, e.g. a desktop environment like xfce would conflict with a window manager like i3
Those scripts look cleaner than mine, perhaps i should give it another go, i’m currently on ubuntu, but many of the packets being 15 years out of date is starting to get annoying, i miss aur with its [xxx]-git packages
X11 DEs have a built in wm. For example xfce has something like xfce-wm. If you disable it’s autostart and replace it with a different one like I3, you get the benefits of both worlds.
Compositors in Wayland work that way because the whole thing is a monolith.
i’m currently on ubuntu, but many of the packets being 15 years out of date is starting to get annoying
Use an external package manager. For simplicity I suggest flatpak or snap. I prefer nix, but the setup is more complicated. That way you’ve got a rock solid system, but fresh or bleeding edge userland packages.
Based on my search when i looked into arandr earlier, and also my search now, it cannot :( looks like it’s just a graphical interface for xrand
But looks like there’s a different project,
autorandr, that looks promising, it won’t automatically run when a display is connected or disconnected, but that’s easy enough to do with an udev rule or somethingThen I misunderstood your question. I’m pretty sure you can do all of these things:
But it’s not like in a DE where you jump through those modes with a keybinding. Instead you generate an xrandr config. It can preserve the position if you unplug an extra monitor and then plug it back in.
If you need that quickswitch functionality, you can generate configs for all of those scenarios and just use a script to cycle through them.
You could also use built in wm functionality. For example you can create modes (I think that’s what it’s called) in i3. Press a shortcut, it opens up a menu, and you can choose your option (load an xrandr config).
Another option is to use Xfce or KDE, and replace the default wm. It’s the best option if you’re lazy about setting everything up. That’s why I’m currently running Xfce + I3. That functionality is useless for me as the Xfce version doesn’t seem to allow you to customise those configurations. The regular display configuration is pretty useful though.
Quickswitch or automatic switch to a different profile, i often found myself enabling an external display and disabling the built-in one, then when packing down my laptop i forgot to manually configure the built in, meaning when i got home i had a laptop with a blank screen, Sometimes i was able to log in, open a terminal and enable the screen, other times i would have to reboot it. Something that could automatically enable the builtin if no external display is connected would’ve gone a long way for my usecase (my attempts at writing scripts for that never worked from what i recall, something got messed up when going to sleep)
Doesn’t xfce use a dm? What kind of display configuration does it give? A gui for manually configuring the layout or something more?
Here’s an extremely simple solution, just bind this to a shortcut:
#!/bin/bash if [[ -z "${MONITOR}" || "${MONITOR}" == "internal" ]]; then export MONITOR="external" ~/dotfiles/xrandr/external.sh else export MONITOR="internal" ~/dotfiles/xrandr/internal.sh fiand just autostart internal.sh
I’d most likely keep it like that and go on with my day, but here’s an ai response for automating it:
To trigger a script when an external monitor is connected or disconnected, you can use udev, the device manager for the Linux kernel.
Here’s a step-by-step plan:
#!/bin/bash export DISPLAY=:0 export XAUTHORITY=/home/username/.Xauthority # replace "username" with your actual username xrandr | grep "HDMI1 connected" # replace "HDMI1" with your actual monitor identifier if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then # commands to run when the monitor is connected else # commands to run when the monitor is disconnected fiSUBSYSTEM=="drm", ACTION=="change", RUN+="/usr/local/bin/monitor-hotplug.sh"sudo udevadm control --reload-rulesNow, whenever an external monitor is connected or disconnected, the monitor-hotplug.sh script will be triggered.
Please note that you’ll need to replace “HDMI1” with your actual monitor identifier, which you can find by running xrandr without any arguments. Also, replace “username” with your actual username.
And here’s an example of using modes in i3 if you need to switch between multiple configurations:
set $mode_system System (k) lock, (l) logout, (u) suspend, (h) hibernate, (r) reboot, (s) shutdown mode "$mode_system" { bindsym k exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh lock, mode "default" bindsym l exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh logout, mode "default" bindsym u exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh suspend, mode "default" bindsym h exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh hibernate, mode "default" bindsym r exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh reboot, mode "default" bindsym s exec --no-startup-id ~/dotfiles/.config/i3/scripts/i3exit.sh shutdown, mode "default" # back to normal: Enter or Escape bindsym Return mode "default" bindsym Escape mode "default" } bindsym control+mod1+X mode "$mode_system"Display manager?
Basic stuff you’d expect, and it has a quick switch keybinding to go between a few basic configurations.
Those scripts look cleaner than mine, perhaps i should give it another go, i’m currently on ubuntu, but many of the packets being 15 years out of date is starting to get annoying, i miss aur with its
[xxx]-gitpackagesX11 DEs have a built in wm. For example xfce has something like xfce-wm. If you disable it’s autostart and replace it with a different one like I3, you get the benefits of both worlds.
Compositors in Wayland work that way because the whole thing is a monolith.
Use an external package manager. For simplicity I suggest flatpak or snap. I prefer nix, but the setup is more complicated. That way you’ve got a rock solid system, but fresh or bleeding edge userland packages.